“They promised me control of this part of the galaxy. I could stop the fighting,” Stan replied.

“Together, we could save the galaxy,” Frankie said.

“They lied to you,” Jordan said. “They would have destroyed us all. But we’ll stop them.” He turned to Shaniqua. “Engineer Thomas, repair the engines. We have a galaxy to save!”

Brittany, 14, from Michigan

Stan With a Plan

Jordan jumped up. Stan Waterhouse was standing nearby . . . holding a gun! But not one of the virtual guns—a real gun. Somehow, he’d gotten into the real world.

Jordan was speechless. But then he remembered Psalm 27:1, “The LORD is my light and my salvation—whom should I fear?” Jordan sat a little straighter.

Waterhouse smiled evilly. “I’ve been watching you, Jordan. But not just you. I’ve been watching the whole crew. In fact, I’ve almost taken over everyone. I threatened Peña and made him do my bidding. Then I injured Noh and sent her to Peña, who changed her holographical circuitry and electronically hypnotized her.”

“That’s for me to know and for you to find out.” Stan smirked as he marched out of the room. “Bwahahahaha!”

Jordan stared at his computer. If only I could access the controls without being watched, he thought, looking at the guard behind him.

“Look!” Jordan yelled. “Someone’s out there!”

The guard jumped, then ran outside to investigate. Jordan quickly grabbed a disk, downloaded half the hard drive and slipped it into his pocket before the guard returned.

“Nothin’ there,” the guard said.

“I have to go to the bathroom,” Jordan said.

“Hurry up.”

Safe inside the game-room bathroom, Jordan pulled out a minicomputer and inserted the disk. He had to tap into the mainframe and warn Shaniqua and Phillip.

Alarms started blaring as Jordan left the bathroom. He hacked into the security cameras and watched as Waterhouse ran down the hallway.

Jordan waited, then announced over the ship’s loud speaker, “We are headed into the forbidden shock-wave sector. Remain calm: Waterhouse has been captured.”

“What?!?” Stan yelled. He ran toward Jordan and slammed into the screen, no longer able to jump into the real world. Shaniqua and Phillip grabbed him, then arrested Stephanie and Dr. Peña.

Soon, everything was back to normal.

Jordan smiled. “God always helps those in need.”

Joshua, 12, from Idaho

One by One

Things were going downhill, and fast. Jordan had to get control of the game. Being a big-time gamer had its advantages, and Jordan was confident he could detect the glitch before things went too far—until now.

The masked villain fired at Phillip. There was a small “zzzt” as the navigator dropped to the floor. A few seconds later, his body disintegrated out of the game.

Jordan ripped off his headset and buried his face in his hands. One down, four to go. Jordan promised himself that he would triple-check the system for glitches before he lost any more characters.

Jordan decided to instruct the crew to gather on the main deck. But before he could speak, the lights went out and the screen plunged into total darkness.

Just as Jordan started to panic, the power came back on. He heard Shaniqua’s voice over the intercom, apologizing for technical difficulties. She sounded tired, not like her usual cheerful self. Jordan switched over to the armory camera just in time to see the ship’s weapons officer blasted out of the game. Two down.

Jordan pulled up the science lab on his screen. Stephanie was busy working on an invisibility drink. The screen turned to static for a few seconds. When the picture cleared, Stephanie was gone.

Only Shaniqua and Frankie were left. Jordan looked into the engine core. He stared, aghast, as Shaniqua eliminated the doctor. She turned and smiled smugly. They were the last two players in a game of tag, and she had outrun him.

Jordan could only watch as an enemy ship decloaked next to the Patriot. Shaniqua climbed aboard and the enemy blasted off, firing a barrage of missiles at Jordan’s stranded vessel.

Jordan barely managed to save his ship as the troublemaker sped light years away. But even light years couldn’t separate Shaniqua from the guilt of betraying her crew.

Mackenzie from Georgia

The Doctor Will See You Now

Before Jordan could finish his sentence, the traitor jabbed him with a needle. Jordan felt woozy as the venom entered his bloodstream.

Dr. Peña sneered as he removed the needle. Then he pushed Jordan away from the monitor.

“You were foolish to give me all of this power,” Peña crowed. “Now I will destroy human technology and medicine, re-creating them in my image!”

Jordan tried to clear his head. After a few seconds his vision returned, and Jordan spied the villainous Peña typing at the controls.

What could Jordan do?

Suddenly, he remembered Psalm 1:6, “For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to ruin.” A bolt of strength flowed through Jordan, and he quietly pushed his chair toward the needle. He grabbed for it, still clumsy from the venom, but the needle slipped from his grasp and shattered against the floor.

Peña whirled around. His face, which had held a look of greed and pride, now displayed one of pure fury.

“You will pay, Jordan! I was going to save your pathetic life—you would have made an excellent footrest. But now you’ve forced me to unleash my full power!”

“What power? You have zero power against God and his followers.” Jordan struggled to his feet, “You’re nothing but evil, and good always defeats evil.”

Peña reached for a vial of green liquid. “One sip of this, and you’ll die,” he snickered.

Jordan charged at Peña. He grabbed the vial and poured the sickly venom down the doctor’s throat.

Peña started to choke. “Nooo!” he moaned. “I am the great Dr. Peña. I will not allow myself to be defeated by a mere mortal—”

Peña pixilated, and his body reappeared on the other side of the screen.

Jordan deleted Peña, then gathered the rest of his crew. “Status report!” he ordered.